It is as much about inclusion as it is about whittling away. Wiman quotes from, and thinks with, old standbys on the subject, like Simone Weil and George Herbert, and more surprising choices, like William Bronk and Gwendolyn Brooks. He tries more kinds of writing — a section about going to the gym; musings on quantum mechanics — and at greater length. Close readings that might have occupied a paragraph now last several pages; memories of the past are given more room to breathe ... Sees God as emptiness, but it also sees God as excess and abundance. Less perfect than the books that came before it, it’s also richer in tone and texture. Wiman, restless as always, has learned new styles from old despairs.
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